Unlike most players, coaches and front-office personnel who claim they don’t pay attention to what’s said outside of a team’s facilities, Jones said he hears all of the criticism of the Cowboys. And as the owner and general manager of a team with one playoff win in the past 17 seasons — filled with several memorably heart-wrenching losses — Jones hears plenty of it.

The pain he enjoys apparently isn’t limited to what happens on the field. Jones told a story about how he didn’t mind a little pain in the doctor’s office after a “serious” loss one week.

“I was doing a lot of blood work, and they said, ‘We want to be sure and get this nurse in that really knows how to be gentle and get it done quickly on the first time,’” Jones said. “And I said, ‘This morning, I need one that needs to try 10 times. I want some pain.’ ”

The reporter asked, “Literally, this happened?”

Jones said, “That happened. And I need to cry a little bit. And so, that’s not a bad thing.”

Jones, who bought the Cowboys in 1989, reiterated he has no plans to let someone else take over as general manager.

“My experience has been, the closer your top management is to the man that writes the check, or the man that is the financial backbone of the team, the better operation you have,” Jones said.